Romulus were looking for a statement result yesterday against play off chasing Darlaston Town at Castle Vale Stadium. It’s been a transitional season for Romulus in the premier division with an eye on building for next season. They were comfortably in mid table going into yesterday’s match and in no danger of relegation. Darlaston are in the hunt for the play offs and were in a good position going into yesterday’s match. The visitors had been one of the most consistent teams in the league going into this one with just five losses from 26 matches which had put them in contention for the play offs. A notable area where they’ve struggled was away from home with three wins from 14 matches. The Citizens were in a decent run of form going into this match with 9 points from their last five league games and were looking to continue their six-game unbeaten run against Romulus. The atmosphere around CV Stadium was positive prior to kick off with both sets of supporters looking forward to the match. Darlaston Town brought a commendable number of supporters who made the trip down to Castle Vale which added to the atmosphere. The main stand of CV stadium is excellent for the view it offers of the pitch. Starting Line Ups The starting line up for Romulus featured Lewis Gwilliams starting in goal and Stephen Palmer captaining the team from holding midfield. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Isai Marselia leading the line up front and being supported by Ryan Nesbitt and Fin Douglas on the wings. There were four changes from the team that started against Dudley Town last weekend with Joe Perry coming into the team and playing in central defence alongside Sam Paddock. Darlaston Town’s starting line up included Tom Allsopp starting in goal and Alexander Foreshaw captaining the team from central defence. The formation appeared to be a 4-2-3-1 with Rivel Mardenborough leading the line up front and being supported by Aaron Bishop and James Rowland on the wings. There were two changes from the team that started against Studley last weekend with Ryan Winwood coming back into the team and starting in holding midfield. First Half The match started with an opening goal in the first five minutes with Romulus starting well and taking the initiative. A well delivered corner into the box found Isai Marselia who headed the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 in the 3rd minute. This was excellent for the neutral as it opened the game up with Darlaston needing something from it in their hunt for the play offs. The visitors were building attacks well and had a few chances to get a quick equaliser. Their best chance came in the middle of the first half when a neat passing move involved Rivel Mardenborough who played a brilliant ball down the left that found James Rowland. He flicked the ball onto Jake Pearson who fired narrowly wide from the edge of the box. The main pattern of play was Darlaston playing a possession-based style and looking to break down a well organised Romulus defence. The Roms were looking to play on the break and draw Darlaston on to them so they could make the most of the available space. It was an entertaining watch with a lot of neat build up play from both sides going forward. The visitors managed to find an equaliser near the half hour mark to make it 1-1. James Rowland got into an excellent position in midfield before playing an accurate ball to Jake Pearson down the right. He crossed to Aaron Bishop who finished well into the left corner of the net. It was a moment of quality on the ball from Darlaston rather than any glaring mistake at the back from Romulus. Romulus responded well to conceding the equaliser and showed character to keep going. There was a brilliant chance for Isai Marselia to make it 2-1 in the 35th minute when he capitalised on a mistake at the back by Rueben Lal and went one on one with Tom Allsopp who made a good save. The Roms persevered and made it 2-1 a few moments later. It was an excellent move in the final third where Isai Marselia made a dangerous run down the left before sending a good cross into the box for Ryan Nesbitt to head in at the near post. It was a quality goal from Romulus and showed what their capable of. The visitors responded and put pressure on the Romulus goal in the final stages of the first half. They were building some momentum in front of goal, and this paid off a few minutes before half time. The Citizens were awarded with a penalty for a handball in the box by Joe Perry. James Rowland stepped up and took a composed penalty into the left corner to make it 2-2 at half time. It was a really entertaining first half between two teams that were going for it and looking to make things happen in the final third. Second Half The second half continued where the first half left off with a lot of action in front of goal and a free-flowing match. Romulus started brightly and took the game to Darlaston and were getting forward with numbers into the box. A good ball into the box lead to a scramble where Isai Marselia reacted quickest to the second ball to make it 3-2 in the 50th minute. He scored again a few minutes later to complete his hat-trick. It was the finish of a player in form, and he made it look easy to make it 4-2 to Romulus. He was brilliant yesterday and held the ball up well to provide an attacking outlet for the Roms so they could build attacks. Darlaston responded straight from the resulting kick off to make it 4-3 and set up a nervy finish to the match. A long ball found Rivel Mardenborough in the box who was one on one with Lewis Gwilliams. He managed to chip the ball into the net for Darlaston’s third in the 55th minute. A subtle tactical change led to Darlaston having more of the ball in the second half. Kieron Miller came on for Rueben Lal in central defence and provided the backline with a greater sense of physicality to stop Romulus’ momentum in front of goal. He played well alongside Alexander Foreshaw at the back, and they were managing to clear dangerous balls away to prevent attacks. The visitors managed to find an equaliser to make it 4-4 in the 65th minute. It was similar to the third goal with James Rowland making a clever run off the ball before being found and flicking the ball over Lewis Gwilliams. From this moment on, Darlaston were in the ascendancy and looking to find the winner. Romulus were looking to hold on and catch the highline of Darlaston off guard. The best chance of a winner for Darlaston came when Aaron Bishop had a half chance from the edge of the box in the 75th minute. There was also a notable chance where Romulus struggled to clear a corner and the resulting second ball went wide of goal. Romulus showed resiliency to hold on and find an unlikely winner in injury time for a dramatic win. A dangerous free kick was delivered into the box where Sam Paddock was on hand to head the ball into the net for the three points. It was a brilliant response from the Roms and something to really build on going forward. Overall, this was a brilliant match and a great advert for step five football. FT score: Romulus 5-4 Darlaston Town Man of the match: Isai Marselia (Romulus) Attendance: 101 Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League Allscott Heath V Nuneaton Griff Allscott Heath will be looking for a result against Nuneaton Griff tomorrow to cement their position in the play offs. They currently have a five-point gap over Cradley Town in 6th with ten matches to go. A play-off appearance would be an excellent achievement for the Shropshire club since coming up from the West Midlands Regional League last season. They have been strong at home this season with nine wins from thirteen matches. Another strength has been their defensive record at home with just 23 goals conceded. There in a good run of form with 12 points from their last six matches. Nuneaton Griff are comfortably in mid table going into the final few months of the season. They will be looking to respond to the 2-1 loss at home to Allscott Heath last weekend with a statement result against one of the form teams in the division. The visitors have not been too bad on the road and have impressed defensively with just 27 goals conceded from 14 matches. There in no relegation trouble which should give them some freedom tomorrow to take the game to Allscott Heath and look to cause an upset. Droitwich Spa V AFC Bridgnorth Droitwich will be looking for three points tomorrow against relegation strugglers AFC Bridgnorth. The Saltmen have been good in division one throughout the season and are in the hunt for the play offs over the next month. They have a three-point gap over Cradley Town in 6th and have a few games in hand over the Hammers. It’s going to be an interesting end to the season for Droitwich with a play-off appearance being a success and a top three finish being a bonus. Ideally, they would want to finish in the top three as it would set up a home semi-final match which plays to their strengths. They have lost once from eleven matches at the Droitwich Spa Leisure Centre. There in a good run of form going into this match with thirteen points from their last five league matches. They will be looking to keep it going against AFC Bridgnorth tomorrow and finish the season strongly. It’s been a tough month for AFC Bridgnorth with one point from their last six league games. They have an eight-point gap to make up to get out the relegation places in division one. With eight matches remaining and Wolves Sporting having a few games in hand, safety would be a brilliant achievement if they can find some form between now and late April. One of their main issues has been away from home with just one win from 15 matches in the league. Ingles V Smethwick Rangers Ingles will be looking to build on their eye-catching win against Wednesfield in mid-week with a result against Smethwick Rangers tomorrow afternoon. It’s been an excellent season from the Leicester side and a play-off appearance would be a brilliant achievement. They currently have a seven-point gap over Cradley Town in 6th. Their main strength has been at the back with one of the best defensive records in the league. They are well organised off the ball which has contributed towards their success at home with seven wins from 14 matches. It’s been a team effort from Ingles, and they have also been clinical in front of goal to be in a strong position for the play offs. It’s been a challenging few months for Smethwick Rangers with one win from their last six league games. At this stage of the season, the visitors are mainly playing for pride and to finish with the highest points tally possible. Relegation to step seven is looking more realistic as the weeks go by. None the less their capable of getting results at step six on their day. They have a ten-point gap to make up with seven matches remaining. One of their main issues has been away from home with two wins from fifteen matches. OJM Black Country V Heather St John’s OJM Black Country will be looking to continue their good form against Heather St John’s at the Triplex Sports Association tomorrow afternoon. There challenging for the play offs and are only four points off the top five with twelve matches remaining. There one of the form teams in the division coming into this weekend with 13 points from their last six league games. The win on Monday against Paget Rangers will give them a bit of confidence going into this match against the Saints. Their main strength has been at the back with the best defensive record in the league with just 29 goals conceded from 26 matches. Heather St John’s have an outside chance of finishing in the play offs. They would have to get on a run of form and hope for results to go in their favour to close the gap on the top five. The visitors are three points off Wednesfield in 5th but have played two matches more. Their away record has been the big issue which has stopped them being higher up the league. Five wins from fifteen matches is ok but could be better with their form at St John’s Park being excellent. If they can beat the teams around them, they have a good chance of challenging for the play offs. Stapenhill V Hinckley AFC Stapenhill will be looking for a statement result against league leaders Hinckley AFC tomorrow afternoon at Maple Grove. The Swans are comfortably in mid table and in no danger of relegation for the remainder of the season. Similar to Nuneaton Griff, they have got the freedom to go for it and cause problems for Hinckley AFC. The story of the season for Stapenhill has been similar to Heather St John’s with an excellent record at home and an ok record on the road. They have been strong at home with seven wins from twelve matches and just 15 goals conceded. It’s all about building some form and taking the positives going into next season for Stapenhill. Tomorrow is a good opportunity to test themselves against one of the top teams in step six. Hinckley AFC have a good lead at the top of division one and will be looking to wrap up the league as soon as possible. They currently have a ten-point lead over nearest challenger Ingles in 2nd with nine matches remaining. Similar to Droitwich, it’s an exciting end to the season for the visitors who are also in the semi-finals of the league cup and a game away from playing at the Bescot again. If they could get promoted a few weeks early, it would give themselves additional time to prepare for the challenges of step five next season. They have been excellent away from home and have managed to get over the line when it’s mattered. Ten wins from twelve matches away is brilliant and they have been solid at the back with just 15 goals conceded on the road. Wednesfield V Cradley Town Wednesfield will be looking to respond to the mid-week defeat against Ingles with a result against Cradley Town at the Cottage Ground tomorrow afternoon. It’s been a tough week for Wednesfield but there still in the hunt for the play offs and two points ahead of Cradley Town in 6th. How they respond to the home losses against Sutton United and Ingles will decide if they get in the play offs. They have been good at home throughout the season in general with nine wins from 15 matches. Regardless of what happens over the next month, to be in the hunt for the play offs is a brilliant achievement for Wednesfield. It’s going to be an intriguing end to the season for the supporters and looking like it could go to the final day. Cradley are another team that have impressed this season in division one and are challenging for the play offs. The Hammers have been one of the stories of the season at this level and have been challenging near the top of the table following a challenging 22-23 season. Their similar to Wednesfield and that fifth spot is wide open at the moment. They have been good away from home with seven wins and three draws from fourteen matches. It’s brilliant that Wednesfield and Cradley are challenging for the play offs. Both teams have built on their mid table finishes from last season and contributed to a crowded play-off race in division one. Preview feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League |
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March 2024
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